Broadcast or streaming audio content delivery systems, such as, for example, Sirius XM Radio or the like, offer numerous channels of content to users. In general, although some effort is made to group channels of similar content in banks or bands, users with varied and eclectic tastes will often end up listening to a subset of channels spread across the entire available channel lineup.
For example, in the XM digital satellite radio service, the following is the channel lineup as of March, 2012:                Channel Number—Channel Name        2—Sirius XM Hits 1        3—Top 20 on 20        4—40s on 4        5—50s on 5        6—60s on 6        7—70s on 7        8—80s on 8        9—90s on 9        10—The Pulse        11—KIIS-FM        12—Z-100        13—LITE-FM        14—Pop 2K        15—Studio 54 Radio        16—The Blend        17—Sirius XM Love        18—Limited Engagements        19—Elvis Radio        20—E Street Radio        21—Underground Garage        22—Pearl Jam Radio        23—Grateful Dead Channel        24—Radio Margaritaville        25—Classic Rewind        26—Classic Vinyl        27—Deep Tracks        28—The Spectrum        29—Jam On        30—The Loft        31—The Coffee House        32—The Bridge        33—1st Wave        34—Lithium        35—Sirius XMU        36—Alt Nation        37—Octane        38—Boneyard        39—Hair Nation        40—Liquid Metal        41—Faction        42—The Joint        44—HipHop Nation        45—Shade 45        46—Backspin        47—The Heat        48—Heart and Soul        49—Soul Town        50—The Groove        51—BPM        52—Electric Area        53—Sirius XM Chill        56—Willies Roadhouse        57—Nashville        58—Prime Country        59—The Highway        60—Outlaw Country        61—Bluegrass Junction        63—The Message        64—Praise        66—Watercolors        67—Real Jazz        68—Spa        69—Escape        70—BB Kings Bluesville        71—Siriusly Sinatra        72—On Broadway        74—Met Opera Radio        75—Sirius XM Pops        76—Symphony Hall        78—Kids Place Live        79—Radio Disney        80—Book Radio        81—Doctor Radio        82—Radio Classics        84—ESPN Radio        85—ESPN Xtra        86—Mad Dog Radio        87—Fantasy Sports Radio        88—NFL Radio*        89—MLB Network Radio        90—NASCAR Radio*        91—College Sports Nation        92—NHL Home Ice        93—PGA Tour Network        94—IZOD Indy Car        96—Laugh USA        97—Blue Collar Radio        98—The Foxxhole        99—Raw Dog Comedy        100—Howard 100*        101—Howard 101*        102—Playboy Radio*        103—Spice Radio*        104—Sirius XM Stars Too        105—The Virus        106—Road Dog Trucking        107—Sirius XM Stars        108—OutQ        109—COSMO Radio        110—Martha Stewart Radio*        111—Oprah Radio        112—CNBC        113—Bloomberg Radio        114—FOX News        115—CNN        116—HLN        117—MSNBC        118—BBC World Service        119—C-SPAN Radio        120—WRN        121—Sirius XM Public Radio        122—NPR Now        123—PRX        124—POTUS        125—Sirius XM Patriot        126—FOX News Radio        127—Sirius XM Left        128—The Power        129—Catholic Channel        131—Family Talk        132—BOS/PHI/PIT        133—NY        134—DC/BAL/ATL        135—CHI/DET        136—MIA/TB        137—DFW/HOU/PHX        138—STL/MSP/LSV        139—SF/SEA/SDG        140—LA        141—HUR Voices        143—BYU Radio        144—Korea Today        145—Inspirate        146—Cristina Radio        147—En Vivo        148—CNN en Espanol        149—ESPN Deportes Radio        150—Caliente        151—The Verge        152—Air Musique        153—Sur La Route        154—XM Scoreboard        155—Canada 360        156—Radio Parallele        157—Calendrier Sportif        158—Quoi de Neuf        159—ATN        163—WCGI-FM        160—Laugh Attack        164—Sixx Sense        165—Extreme Talk        166—Americas Talk        167—ReachMD        168—TALK Radio        169—FOX Sports Radio        175—MLB en Espanol        176-189 MLB Play by Play Channels        190-210 Play by Play Channels        212-222 NHL Play by Play Channels        225-239 Premier Play by Play Channels (NFL, NCAA, Nascar)*        Xtra Channels:**        310—Rock and Roll Hall of Frame Radio (Xtra Channel)**        313—RockBar (Xtra Channel)**        316—Sirius XM Comes Alive (Xtra Channel)**        319—Classic College Radio (Xtra Channel)**        340—Tiesto's Club Life Radio (Xtra Channel)**        350—Red White & Booze (Xtra Channel)**        360—Yoga (Xtra Channel)**        370—SportsCenter (Xtra Channel)**        400—Carlin's Corner (Xtra Channel)**        403—Dirty Dog (Xtra Channel)**        406—UCB Radio (Xtra Channel)**        500—Viva (Xtra Channel)**        503—La Mezcla (Xtra Channel)**        506—Flow Nación (Xtra Channel)**        510—Aguila (Xtra Channel)**        520—Latidos (Xtra Channel)**        523—Caricia (Xtra Channel)**        530—Luna (Xtra Channel)**        533—Rumbón (Xtra Channel)**        540—La Kueva (Xtra Channel)**        560—RadioFórmula México (Xtra Channel)**        569—Playboy Radio en Espanol (Xtra Channel)**        *=Requires XM Premier subscription        **=Requires Xtra-compatible radio, such as the XM Edge        
As can readily be seen, with over 170 channels, individual users may regularly listen to one or two channels from each band of channels, such as, for example, 80s on 8, 90s on 9, Deep Tracks 27, The Joint 42, BBC World Service 118, Oprah Radio 111, C-Span 119, and Laugh Attack 160. These regularly used channels are spread across the entire 170+ spectrum of channels.
In a typical use of a radio receiver capable of receiving multiple channels, such as an XM capable satellite radio receiver, a content provider may assign featured channels to a set of preset channels, so that a particular channel can be quickly selected by a user for live play by simply selecting from a menu of such preselected channels. While this menu of preselected channels (“channel bank”) can provide a wide assortment of channels, it (i) is generally infrequently refreshed to reflect the latest lineup changes, (ii) fails to consider user preferences, or (iii) fails to update based on seasonal or promotional periods. If there is no subset of desired channels, the user is then forced to search for channels. Although, as noted, channels may be grouped together by category, a user still must perform an extra step of searching through uninteresting channels to find his or her personal “wheat amongst the chaff.”
In most receivers, a user may select certain channels as favorites for ease of access. However, such a user may not be aware of certain promotional/season events/channels, new channels, or other channels of interest without having to search the full list of channels.
What is thus needed in the art are convenient methods and apparatus for providing a user with the channels he or she genuinely wishes to listen to without requiring that he or she to search for them across an ever expanding spectrum of available channels.